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"When I stepped into a fellowship position in a public school district, I had no experience in writing grant proposals. Fortunately, I attended one of Katherine’s grant workshops, where I picked up the nuts and bolts of the trade. She gave me feedback as I crafted a plan and resources for the school district, and then assisted our efforts by presenting a teacher in-service. Many teachers and non-grant writers can be intimidated by grants. Katherine breaks down the steps of proposal writing in a clear and understandable way. Participating in grant training helped lower the barrier for the district to apply for grants. In a few months of working with teachers on their grant requests, we raised $50,000! Katherine served as a mentor and proposal coach for a larger project to install a new synthetic turf field at Sto-Rox Jr./Sr. High School, which received a $250,000 grant from the Pittsburgh Steelers through the National Football League Foundation Grassroots Program." ~ Brian Rhindress, Communities in Schools of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County

Katherine's presentations assist participants in building practical grant research, proposal and budget development, and report writing skills. She speaks in plain language with "can-do" enthusiasm. Her seminars are regularly updated and responsive to regional and national trends, accessible, and reasonably priced. Takeaways include PowerPoint notes, hands-on practical exercises for developing a proposal and Letter of Inquiry, start-up budget templates, grant team work plans, proposal feedback, and other resources. Participants can request electronic tools and follow-up coaching.

Since 2008, Katherine has presented grant training seminars (above) at the Community College of Allegheny County, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Nonprofit Resource Center (a Funding Information Network partner of the Foundation Center of New York), and Local Government Academy. She has been an invited speaker for universities, national associations, and professional conferences serving local, national and international audiences.

Katherine has provided grant presentations or grant training/proposal coaching for these organizations:

University of Pittsburgh: National Network of Libraries of Medicine Mid-Atlantic Region

VisionServe Alliance

Volunteers of America in Pennsylvania-Working Order Program

Katherine (Hudgens) Heart earned a Master of Education degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1984 and excelled in the Grants and Fundraising Course in the Graduate School of Social Work which turned her interests toward the nonprofit sector. She was a youth sports coach and adult fitness leader during and after college, and served as a training manager at two victim service agencies for seven years. She has given hundreds of presentations during her 40+ year career.

In 2012-13, Katherine was selected for advanced communications training with Vanguard Communications, the national award-winning PR Agency in Washington D.C. as part of afederal fellowshipwhich enhanced her ability to plan and present advocacy campaigns through media outreach and motivational speaking for public health/mental health issues.

Katherine completed Train-the-Trainer programs with the Department of Justice and Fred Pryor Seminars. Her grant professional development includes: the Grants and Fundraising Course in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh; the Grantsmanship Center's 5-Day Grant Training Program in 2000; one-day workshops on advanced proposal writing and budgeting from the Foundation Center of New York; in-person workshops and online courses with author Dr. Beverly Browning; and meetings and conferences on all aspects of grants and fundraising with the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Grant Professionals Association.

Heart Resources, LLC

QUALIFICATIONS

Katherine F.H. Heart, GPC, M.Ed. was the first grant professional to receive designation as an Approved Trainer by the Grant Professionals Association based on an application containing her grant course descriptions, learning objectives, competencies/skills list, and positive references on her teaching skills from participants.

Katherine earned the Grant Professional Certified (GPC) credential from the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI) in 2012. The GPC is a nationally-recognized credential that confirms mastery of the knowledge and practice of grantsmanship through formal validated testing. The GPC has become an industry standard attesting to qualifications better than any college degree or grant training certification. The GPC credentialing process involved independent verification of her awarded grants, years of grants experience, and agency references. Maintaining the credential requires that she upholds ethical standards while providing grant services, and engages in regular professional development and volunteer service. Verify her GPC credential at www.grantcredential.org.